A Fine Frenzy
by givesup
Summary: What would have happened if Brennan actually decided to sail away with Sully. How would Booth feel? How would Brennan deal with Booth's feelings?
1. Chapter 1

**A/N – Ahhh! I'm excited but nervous! It's been a long while since I've posted anything. And I hope you all actually still have an interest in my writing (those of you who follow me) if you're currently on a hunt for my head because of my abandonment of How to Use Your Head While Following Your Heart – let me just say that I did NOT abandon that fic. When I was younger, I always told myself that I would never abandon my children. And that fic is my child! I just came to a point where I wasn't sure where I wanted to take it, and I still don't know honestly – but remember…it's NOT abandoned. It's just on a vacation, from me, its mother. Moving on now...**

**Interestingly enough this story, A Fine Frenzy, came to me when I was doing a writing exercise. It was meant to be something short maybe 600-800 words. I would put my IPOD on shuffle and just write whatever that song made me feel. The song ****_Near To You_**** by A Fine Frenzy came on and yeah...things kind of snowballed from there. Not sure exactly how many chapters this will be, I'm thinking around 10? Who knows? But… here it be! And P.S. I hope the timeline makes sense. It's pretty simple, but it still somehow confused even me, the creator of the timeline… No judging! Now read and enjoy! Hopefully (bites fingernails)**

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**A Fine Frenzy - Chapter 1**

**Rating: T (that could possibly change in the future)**

**Present Day…..**

He could only see as far as his very next step, only as far as the space where his foot would be landing next and absolutely nothing beyond that and if he thought about he didn't really care to see beyond that right now. He kept his head down and his pace steady piercing through the fog and heavy damp air that was oddly both warm and muggy but at times cool and brisk. He was hot but had the chills at the same time. He was nearing a small bridge that went over a creek and right at the end of the bridge is where the street lamps started on each side of the road again. As he was crossing the bridge on the sidewalk he started to think about a strange thing always happened to him in regards to street lamps. It had been happening to him for as far back as he can remember. When walking, driving –whatever – when passing under street lamps he would notice that one would go out as soon as he went by it. This didn't happen _every _single time he was under them, but it happened enough to bother him, or at least it used to bother him. Now, he was just used to it.

He was sweating now. He was sweating because of the distance he's already walked and because his adrenaline was still pumping through every part of him. His thin grey Journey t-shirt was damp down the middle of his back, under his arms and around his neck. He pushed on though –spend up even. He continued to replay that initial conversation over and over again in his mind between him and Bones just twelve days earlier.

_"Booth, I just wanted to let you know that I'm taking yours and everyone else's advice. I'm going to go with Sully." She had told him trying to sound eager, hopeful, elated, but he didn't miss the hint of sadness in her voice. She looked away for a fraction of a second before her beautiful blue eyes fluttered back to him. "Just for awhile at least." She said. "Just for awhile…" She repeated. _

_And he wasn't prepared for that. He told her to go but he wasn't prepared for her to actually leave him. _

_"Oh wow, ok." He had smiled a weak smile. _

_A deep breath. "Ok." He repeated with more finality. _

_And she just stood there in front of him, both of them in front of the entrance to her apartment. Why was she just standing there looking at him? What did she want him to say or do at that point? Congrats? Pat on the back? High five? Have fun? Make sure to take a liberal supply of Dramamine? "Listen Bones, I'm happy you decided to go. It's really great." _

_"I'm glad." She followed quickly. "I mean, I'm glad that you're happy for me, Booth." _

_He had look away from her then. It was really sinking in while she was standing there, as he was looking at her, it was sinking in and he refused to let her see it as it did. He wiped his hand down his face. "Listen Bones, I have to get going, ok?"_

_"Ok, Booth." Was all she said to him before he turned and walked away…. _

A couple days went by before it was mentioned again. Bones told him that she and Sully decided that they'd delay the trip a week. There were a few last minute things that needed to be taken care of, she had explained. He nodded but didn't actually say anything inquiring further into what exactly needed to be taken care of.

**Ten Days Earlier…..**

"So, Sully and I aren't leaving right away, like we would have liked."

He was driving and kept his head straight, didn't so much as flinch let alone look over at her when she mentioned Sully and her plans. He didn't want to get into what her plans were with him. He didn't want to think about it and he certainly did not want to talk about it.

"We're going to wait another week or so." He could tell that she was looking at him now. There was a long pause before she started to speak again, though her eyes never left him. He knew that she was waiting for him to say something in response but he bit back everything that he could have said, wanted to say. She sighed deeply before continuing. "There are still a few last minute things that," She cleared her throat, "that we need to take care of." And then he _did_ flinch, maybe physically but definitely internally. He wasn't sure how obvious it was to his partner, but he reacted, not because the conversation about her plans was finally causing him to react but because he heard her voice stray from strong to weak during the last part of her sentence. Was she about to cry? It definitely sounded like her voice broke there…. He said nothing though, only nodded, without even looking at her.

They pulled up to the scene at the edge of a corn field and came to a bumpy stop. Bones got out of the truck quickly and Booth stayed behind for a moment. He watched as she closed the door behind her and took a pair of gloves out from the pocket of her jumpsuit. He watched as she walked quickly and diligently to the people she needed to speak with. He watched as she approached one of the responding officers and nodded as he began to talk to her about scene and the remains. He watched as she started to put her gloves on, left hand was first, as always and then the right. And then he watched as she brought her hands down to rest on her hips as she began to survey the scene for herself. She was about to get a little closer to the remains by kneeling down and he was about to watch as she did so but he was interrupted by a loud knock against the truck's window.

"Agent Booth?" He heard the person ask from the outside. He pulled himself together quickly before opening the door and leaving his truck to join Bones and team.

After some time the team was wrapping up and the remains were being sent back to the lab. Everyone began to scatter and go into their own direction, doing whatever it was that they needed to do, like clockwork. After giving the last instructions to another agent and watching the agent turn in the opposite direction he then made his way to were Bones was standing a few yards up from where the remains were. He was walking up to her from behind and from what he could see she was just staring into the distance, looking out at nothing, being completely still, hands to her side, not doing…anything. It took him every ounce of will power he could muster to not walk up to her and touch. Put a hand on her shoulder, her back, her neck…. It was even harder for him not to ask what was wrong. What was it that she was thinking about? Was there anything that he could do for her? He didn't know where he stood with her right now and maybe he was feeling a bitter. Maybe he was acting a little selfish but he couldn't stand doing those things when he knew it was only a matter of days when she wouldn't even be in his life; for whatever amount of time she says she'll be gone for. It was killing him but he didn't want to be...himself.

"Bones." Even though he said her nickname softly it still startled her and she jumped a little before turning around to look at him.

"Oh... Booth, I'm sorry. I'm coming…I'll be right over." She assured and then she turned away from him again, looking out into the distance as the sun began to set.

He didn't say anything to hurry her he just continued to stand behind her. _Right _behind her actually, very close to where their bodies were mere centimeters apart, but he didn't touch her, he wouldn't. But as he stood there he began to wonder if just barely touching her was torturing him more than actually _touching_ her would.

A significant amount of time passed. At some point Booth ended up sitting down on a little dirt hill behind her as she stared out into the now dark sky. He was leaning back on the heels of his hands looking out himself wondering where the lightening bugs go when the season changes from summer to fall. He would usually ask Bones something like that, but not now. She turned around finally and looked down at him. "We should probably go now. Cam has already called me twice."

"And me three times."

They shared a smile the first genuine smile with each other in days. Booth hoisted himself from the ground and dusted off his pants and hands before they walked back to the Tahoe together. They drove back to the lab and Booth dropped her off. He decided he'd head back to his office only for a little while before calling it a night and he encouraged Bones to do the same thing. "Listen, it's getting late, try to leave at a decent hour, ok?"

He couldn't subdue his care for her anymore that day. Maybe he'd already reached his selfish asshole quota for the day.

"I'll try." She said as she climbed out of his truck and in a few moments she was gone from his view. Everything was silent again except for the voices in his head that never seemed to quiet since two days ago when she told him that she was leaving him. He drove off deciding in that second that he would need to try harder to separate himself from Bones in these final days with her. She didn't need him anymore. She had someone to protect her, care for her. She had someone to go home to at night, to eat dinner with, someone to talk to about her problems. She had someone to call her and tell her to come home when it was getting too late. He couldn't be that for her anymore. He wouldn't. He would just have to try harder to let someone else do the caring.


	2. Chapter 2

**A Fine Frenzy - Chapter 2**

**Rating: T (that could possibly change in the future)**

Booth was in one of those torturous dilemmas where he felt exhausted but wasn't actually sleepy. His body and mind were tired but he didn't feel like he wanted to sleep. He decided to skip stopping at his office and head home realizing as he drove by the Hoover that he didn't really want to be there anyway.

The elevator was down again so he walked the stairs to his apartment. The bones in his legs and feet felt like lead weights as each step he took fell heavily back down to the ground. He entered his home and immediately autopilot was activated as he began emptying his pockets, removing his holster and gun, and shedding his clothing. He stuck his hands into his pants pockets checking for any items there. He pulled a few things out. One being his poker chip. He stuck the chip in his mouth between his lips as he removed his pants quickly desperate to get out of them. When he finally kicked them off his legs he threw them to the side letting them fall into a pile on his living room floor. He grabbed the chip from his mouth and went to sit on the couch in only his boxers and white dress shirt. He flipped the plastic chip over and over again between his this thumb and finger. He thought about the nearing day when he would have to say goodbye to his partner and watch her leave with Sully. That thought evoked so many different emotions he wasn't even sure where to start. He knew that there were things to take care of professionally with the Jeffersonian and the FBI. He knew that he'd have to adapt professionally and sort everything out on _that_ end and that professionally everything would probably work out ok. But what seemed to be eating at was how he was going to be able to wake up that next day and not have her be his number one priority. He couldn't seem to wrap his mind around that. It's just something that he just wasn't programmed for. He couldn't imagine not knowing where she was, what she was doing, if she was safe. Just thinking about not knowing drove him nuts. The day he met Temperance Brennan he knew he was destined, at the very least, to protect her. He thought about his decision to distance himself from her while she was still here. The thought of separating himself from her during the time that she was still his broke his heart because he knew that even if she never admitted to it, it would break _hers._

Brennan, true to her word, did leave at a decent hour. Or what _she_ thought was a decent hour. She didn't go to her place even though a part of her just wanted her own bed but went to Sully's instead. They were spending nearly every night together these days. She didn't mind that. She knew that she still had her own place. She still had that place to go if ever she needed to get away for a break or even permanently if need be. She made her way down the dock as the winds began to pick up and carry her hair with them. She hurried her pace, pulling her light jacket tighter around her body. She quickly climbed up onto the boat and tapped gently at the door and waited. Sully always gave her a hard time about knocking. He always told her that he wanted her to come right in without knocking, it was her place too. Even gave her a key incase he wasn't there. But still, she insisted. This was his place, not hers. It would be theirs soon; even then technically it would still be his, but it wasn't theirs…yet. She could never see herself just waltzing into someone's home. Unless there was some kind of urgent matter at hand or she felt -

"Hey gorgeous." She was greeted by Sully and his warm comforting smile. He moved out of the way as she walked in past him and then down the few stairs.

"Still knocking, huh?" He moved a hand up to touch her face trying to guide her lips to his.

"Yes, I would feel as if I was intruding if I didn't. I know we're dating-"

He cut her off not with words but with a look and Brennan corrected herself, for his sake.

"I know this is a _serious relationship," _She stressed "But I just can't imagine you walking into my apartment anytime. That would feel…. invasive."

He smirked at her honesty and finally kissed her lips gently.

"I know Temp… I know."

She moved over to where the sitting area just outside of where they slept was. She sat down and closed her eyes for a moment as she relished in the feeling of finally resting. Sully watched her from a few feet away and noted that she looked stressed. After a long moment of silence and not moving she opened her eyes again, sat up and began to take her boots off.

"Wine?" He asked moving over towards the liquor cabinet.

"No thank you." She said with a grunt as she struggled but was successful in pulling off one boot.

He put the bottle of wine back and opened up the mini fridge. "Water then?"

"How about sleep?" She asked placing her boots together by the sofa she was sitting on.

Sully closed the door to the refrigerator and nodded as he thought he understood now. He walked towards her slowly with a knowing look on his face. "Did you and Booth have a fight about something?"

"What? Why are you asking me that?"

The tone in her voice warned him that he should tread lightly but the warmth of the alcohol racing through is veins from earlier told him he didn't care. He moved closer to her. Her eyes never left him as he did. He stood in front of her now with his hands on his hips and shrugged. "I'm just saying that you have a tendency to sort of… _sulk,_"he waited a few extra seconds to see if she would respond to his word choice right away and when she didn't, verbally at least, he continued, "whenever you and Booth have a falling out."

His voice was still soft and calm as it usually was but the way he said it still pricked at something inside of her. Her eyebrows' rose quickly and lowered again just a quick as she looked up at him in disbelief. "Do you think it's at all possible that I'm actually just tired, Sully?"

"You can be tired without sulking."

"I'm not sulking. Actually as of right now I'm pissed off." She reached down and grabbed one of the knee high boots that she had just taken off. "And in case you were confused my being pissed off has nothing to do with Booth and everything to do with you, Sully." She was handling the boot for her right foot aggressively as she tried to get it back on. Sully stood for a moment watching as she continued to grow more and more upset and not realizing in the moment that she was trying to leave. She grunted as she tried to push her foot into the boot and after another failed attempt she pulled it off, collected its mate from the floor and held them both in her hands as she stood up. Finally catching up, Sully moved quickly towards her and blocked her with his body. He placed his hands gently against each of her shoulders and took a deep breath. "Temperance please. Look… I'm sorry, ok?" They stood nose to nose while she examined his eyes and tried desperately to read them.

Booth began to undo the buttons on his shirt as he tried to shake the feeling of jealousy as he thought about Bones and Sully. Sully was a good guy but was he good enough for Bones? Was anyone? Would anyone ever be? No, never. He shook his head as he continued to think in silence. He must be wrong though, Sully must be good enough for her. He's good enough for her to forget about everything here, her life here, her job here, _he's _here…

He's good enough for her to leave him here without a purpose. He hated himself for making the situation deeper than what it should be. He hated that he was selfish enough to want her to stay just for his sake. He sat up from the couch and shrugged out of his shirt and laid it over the arm rest of the couch. That feeling must have been wrong. He must have been lying to himself these last couple of years. That moment he first saw her, nothing inside him really changed, nothing was destined or written, and nothing about that moment mattered anymore.

Of course, she wasn't running off to get married, but Bones wouldn't get married. Her taking off with Sully is like a normal person getting married.

But he told her to go. And when he looked into her eyes he could tell that she really wanted to know the truth. She really wanted to know if she really _should _go. Her eyes told him that she really didn't know and she really believed that he was one of the people in her life that knew what was best for her. He told her to go…

She wasn't sure. She wasn't sure if he was really sorry or not. She loosened her rigid stance a bit as Sully began to massage her shoulders gently. "Let's just get some sleep, ok? We've both had long days and we're both just tired." He smiled a little. She lowered her arms that still held onto her boots and let them fall back down to the floor and when she did that Sully also relaxed with a sigh. He moved his hands down away from her shoulders and grabbed one of her hands. "Come on." He whispered and led them back to his bed.

Booth finally convinced himself to get up from his couch and make his way to his bedroom. Instead of slipping into bed, which was his intention, he went directly to his bathroom and turned the hot water on in the shower. Once the steam began to move about the room and he could no longer see his reflection in the mirror he took his boxers and socks off and stepped behind the shower curtain.

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**Hope you likey!**


	3. Chapter 3

**Just FYI - this is still taking place BEFORE the beginning of the story where we see Booth walking alone down the road.**

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**A Fine Frenzy - Chapter 3**

**Rating - still 'T'**

Booth pushed his chest against the glass door and let himself out of the little coffee and bagel shop that he liked to stop in every once in awhile. As he was walking out his cell phone rang in his pocket but with one hand carrying coffee and the other hand carrying his lunch he couldn't grab for it right away. He cursed and started to speed walk towards his truck while trying not to spill his coffee. By the time he got there is cell stopped ringing. He pulled his phone from his pocket and looked at the missed call. Bones. "Damnit."

"Dr. Brennan," Cam appeared in the doorway of Brennan's office, "have you heard from Booth yet?" Brennan had just hung up her phone. She couldn't get through to him. And she couldn't help but think back to last night.

_Brennan woke from her sleep when she heard her cell beep from somewhere across the room. She kept still for a moment and then she heard it again – a beep alerting her that she had a voicemail or text message that hadn't been read. She sat up in bed and wiped the sleep from her eyes. She looked down at Sully who loosened his hold on her and turned to face the opposite direction. She quietly got out of bed and padded her way over to her bag that was lying on the floor and dug for her phone. She pulled it out thinking that she would have to quickly leave in the middle of the night because of another case. Instead of seeing a missed call she saw Booth's name on her screen and she had a text message from him. She opened it up and thought the time it took to load was too long. _

_Bones…_

_Yes? _

_Everything ok? _

_ Yes. _

_Moments went by. Brennan slouched down to the floor not wanting to get back into bed just yet. More moments passed and she continued to sit on the floor in her underwear and sleep shirt waiting for him to say something else. Anything else._

Her cell phone rang. Booth was calling her back. "He's calling me back." She shouted to Cam who was now standing just inside her office. "Brennan." She answered.

Cam watched as Brennan stood from her desk and began making her way towards her. "Yes, we were able to identify the remains." One hand clutched the phone to her ear and the other had her pointer finger in her ear. She squinted as she concentrated to hear Booth on the other end of the line. "Yes, Demetrius Scott." She shouted into the receiver now standing in front of Cam. "Ok, see you then."

"Going to the Hoover. Booth's getting the family's information." Brennan said as she shuffled past Cam.

When Booth got to his office he threw his lunch to the side of his desk and started bringing up the missing persons file for Demetrius Scott. His computer was loading slowly and while he was waiting he grabbed his cell to check to see what time it was when his call with Bones ended to calculate how long it should take her to get to his office. He scrolled through his texts from the previous night.

_Everything ok? He had asked her. _

_Yes._

_His phone still in hand; he clung to it. He didn't text anything back for awhile and he was starting to fall in and out of sleep. Feeling like the next time he closed his eyes would be the last time for that night he sent her another text. _

_Just checking. I care…_

_That's all he could muster himself to say without saying too much. He couldn't do it. He couldn't pull away from her. He couldn't just let her go. He couldn't stop doing what he felt like he was here to do. He could want to. He could want to so bad because it was the best thing to do but it didn't matter…he just could not do it. And actually, the more he thought about putting that distance between them the more his heart ached for her. The more he thought about trying to make it easier or himself by not being so personal with her the more he wanted to be with her and talk to her face to face. Watch her mouth move, watch her eyes light up, watch her frown when she didn't understand something, watch her and watch over her. _

_He fought and fought and fought and finally lost the battle. And there was no relief. Only more questions. More confusion. He didn't know if she would text him back or not and tonight he didn't want to know what her reply would be if she did. He tossed his phone carelessly to the ground by his bed and closed his eyes._

The file he was looking for finally loaded. Demetrius Scott reported missing last month. He scrolled through the file some more. Demetrius had a significant record.

"Grand theft auto…." Booth muttered to himself as he continued to scroll through the file looking for the names and addresses of Demetrius' family members.

"Booth."

She couldn't believe the way his name came out of her mouth. She was a little breathless from rushing up to his office and so when she said Booth it came out like she was panting, desperate for something… It rattled her for a brief second but collected herself. He looked up at her and when she saw his brown eyes light up all she could think about was his last text message she received from him. _I care._

She never responded to that text last night. She wasn't even sure what he meant by it. She usually had no reservations about speaking her mind or asking questions when she wasn't sure about something. But this… _this_ she did have a reservation about_._ She had several questions that needed to be asked and things that needed to be send that she just could not ask or say. She couldn't ask them. She couldn't say them. Not now. It wouldn't be right. And so she ignored it and a part of her hoped that it would never be brought up again and the other part wanted him to say it again so so badly.

"Bones."

He spoke her name and smiled and she was once again rattled. Was he going to ignore last night like she was or was he going to continue his thought. Tell her something else face to face. Tell her that he wants her to stay and not go with Sully. She looked at him waiting for something. Anxious, hopeful, scared to death.

Booth grabbed several papers from the printer.

"Demetrius Scott was first reported missing last month by his uncle who he was living with." He grabbed his keys from his desk and his lunch that he had yet to start on. "In Virginia."

Brennan, finally coming out of her own thoughts, blinked a few times before speaking.

"Oh… Are you…. are you going now?" She turned to follow him as he walked by her. "Yes. I don't see why we should wait." He stopped outside his office and waited for her to follow him. "Ok then let's go." They both walked quickly not because they needed to be anywhere at a particular time – not for any reason really other than someone started the pace first and the other followed it. When they stepped off the elevator on the ground floor they bumped into Sully.

"Hey Sul." Booth patted his friend on the back who was carrying his lunch as well.

"Hey there." He eyed his friend and co-worker for a moment before giving his full attention to his girlfriend. "I was just getting ready to have lunch. Join me?" He asked raising his eyebrows and his bag of food in a hopeful manner.

Brennan pouted a little. "I'm sorry Booth and I were just leaving. We have to notify family today." There was some silence between all three of them as Sully nodded and Booth tried to keep to his own a few feet away. "I was going to call you once we were on our way." Sully smiled and shrugged. "That's cool. I'll see you tonight then?"

"Yes, tonight." Brennan agreed quickly desperately trying to avoid any display of affection. But as if God existed and He was against her Sully stepped into her space. "Great." He said as he leaned into her trying to kiss her on the mouth.

Brennan moved to the side just barely but it was enough to make him miss her mouth and land on her cheek. He pulled back and Brennan dared a quick glance at Booth. She caught a second of his eyes before they both looked away from each other.

"Okay then. Be safe. I'll see you later."

Brennan walked away from Sully and the strange and sudden weirdness that was between them to join Booth by his side.

"Can I drive?"

"No."

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**Thanks for reading!**


	4. Chapter 4

**A/N – The beginning of the story shows Booth walking alone by himself. While he's walking he starts thinking about the last few days (or several days) and the events that took place within them. So just like last chapter everything that's happening now has happened already ****_before _****we see Booth walking alone. Oh and happy end of hiatus to all! *Throws Booth shaped confetti***

**Interesting tidbit- I actually wrote this chapter first before any other part of the story. **

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**A Fine Frenzy - Chapter 4**

**Rating- T**

The afternoon sun was beautiful and easy. It wasn't harsh and overbearing like some days. The rays from it shone down through the tree canopies and the green on either side of the road glistened magnificently. Everything about this scene, this day, seemed completely normal but inside of Brennan's mind she knew better. Brennan just couldn't shake the feeling she had. The confines of the vehicle forced a quiet intimacy that was becoming deafening to her. She continued to reread Booth's text messages over and over again in her mind while he drove them silently into Virginia. She wondered if he was thinking about it too. She wanted to know what he meant but maybe it meant nothing if he wasn't going to elaborate. She didn't even know if she actually wanted him to elaborate. She wanted to know the meaning behind his words without him having to tell her and the fact that she wasn't getting anywhere was maddening. She pushed those thoughts to the back of her mind when Booth suddenly pulled into a dirt driveway that lead them to a modest home. The lawn was overgrown. There were rusted car parts in the yard. The paint on the house was chipping or completely gone in some areas. The windows were either cracked or completely boarded up and half of the porch was gone from what looked like termite damage. They both stepped out of the truck and stopped to look at what was in front of them.

"Are you sure anyone even lives here Booth?"

He shrugged, "I guess we'll find out won't we?"

They walked up to the house cautiously. Booth kept a steadying hand near Brennan that didn't touch her but was there just in case as they walked up the deteriorating porch steps. Before knocking Booth walked up to one of the windows just to the left of the door cupped his hands to the sides of his face and tried to squint through the thin curtains that hung on the other side of the glass. He moved back again and knocked. They heard a dog bark.

"There has to be someone occupying this home if there is an animal inside." She looked at Booth who went back to the window to peek inside.

"Not necessarily." He moved back and knocked again with more authority. After a moment of waiting he turned around ready to tell Bones to stay on the porch while he went around the back of the house to see if anyone happened to be in the backyard, if you could even call it a backyard. But before he had the chance to say or do anything at all he noticed a car that was just sitting in the driveway behind his truck. When the driver saw Booth the car began to back up, not slowly either.

"Shit." Booth muttered as he hopped down the porch steps. "He's runnin'."

Brennan was quick behind him as they made their way back to the truck. Two doors slammed at the same time and they were soon on the trail of the tan 1997 Mitsubishi Mirage. Brennan flicked the switches that controlled the lights and sirens on the truck while Booth concentrated on staying with the car that was leading them further into a densely wooded area up the side of a mountain. Brennan concentrated hard on keeping calm and trying to read road signs as they went by but everything was a complete blur. Everything was happening so fast that even if she did get a clear look at one of the road signs was it even likely that she would remember it once everything settled?

Randomly, the car they were chasing came to a hard stop off on the side of the road flinging rocks and dirt back and up into their windshield. When the dust finally cleared they were able to see that the man was not in his car anymore. The driver's side door was left wide open and they spotted the man bolting down the side of the hill, jumping over branches and stumps as he went. Booth slammed on his breaks sending Brennan into her seat belt with violent force. "I'm sorry." He apologized quickly and she nodded indicating to him that she was ok. "Stay in the car." He demanded. This time his words were slow and precise with a low tone before he too leapt from the truck and began down the side of the hill after the now could be considered suspect. Before Brennan could even think about it her seat belt was off and she was running after Booth. What if he needed her? She was not going to risk staying behind. She disappeared into the woods after them.

"Oh my God. Booth!" She shouted as she made her way down the steep hill taking sideways steps to insure she didn't topple over face first into the leaf covered, muddy hill. "Booth!" She yelled again.

She wanted to look up so bad. She wanted to see if she could spot him, see him, confirm that he was there but she knew that if she took her eyes off the ground she'd fall hard and probably break something. She was forced to take slow, calculated steps until she reached flat ground. What seemed like hours passed before she finally got the bottom of the hill and broke out into a full on sprint, picking up her head her eyes in search for him.

"Booth!" She yelled again, her hands out in front of her face pushing dangling tree limbs and spider webs from her path. She was desperately trying to see through the thickening woods and brush. Her heart leapt when she finally spotted them. She could barely see flashes between the trees of both men running appearing and disappearing between thick trunks.

"Hey!"

She heard Booth yell in the distance. "Stop or I'll shoot you!"

She ran with everything she had as fast as the woods would allow her and when she finally came to a clearing she struggled to slow down because of the speed she was running. Eventually her legs, which she could no longer feel, did slow and then she had to stop. She tried to keep from bending over and clutching her side knowing it would only hinder her from getting the oxygen she needed. Focusing on the men still yards out, she picks up a light jog again wanting to keep up before they got too far ahead of her and she lost them completely. Booth was just barely catching up to the suspect and out in front that suspect she noticed that there was a sudden drop off. There was a cliff coming up and they were both headed straight for it and they obviously couldn't see it because the man Booth was chasing was only looking down concentrating on his very next step and Booth was concentrating on that mans back ready to pounce as soon as he got close enough.

Her heart fluttered not in her chest but what felt like in her throat. "Booth wait!" Her yell was chocked with anxiety and came out weak and strangled. She called out again trying to warn him. "Booth there's a cliff!" She picked up more speed as she tried to stretch her legs as long and far as she could to cover as much distance as she could and she was getting so frustrated that her strides just weren't long enough. "Booth!" But her voice was strained because she was forcing back tears. She stopped running again, completely winded and then took a long deep breath gathering as much oxygen as she could into her burning lungs. "Booth stop! Right now!" It was a sob but it was loud and it was heard.

She saw his head turn and he spotted her in the clearing and he tried to stop as the man in front of him also suddenly noticed the danger that he was headed for and tried to stop himself but the effort that he exuded caused him to fall to the ground and just before he fell over the edge his fingers dug into the dirt in a last-ditch attempt to keep himself from plunging to his death below. It was in vain though because he quickly tumbled over the edge before Booth could get there to stop him.

Brennan ran towards the scene when she realized what just happened as Booth ran up to the edge of the drop off and fell down to his knees and then laid flat on his belly looking over the edge.

"Son of a bitch!" He yelled over the cliff and only his echo was heard.

He rested his forehead on the ground as he took large gulps of air, each exhale sending small clouds of dust to form around his face. Brennan finally made her way over to him and she knelt next to him putting a hand on his shoulder. She knew from experience that that would bring him comfort. He pushed himself back up from the ground into a squatting position. His head dropped in defeat but Brennan kept her hand there. He punched the ground and then growled either in frustration or pain or a combination of both. After a few more calming breaths he reached his hand back and laid it over her hand and focused on the warm and comforting feeling he felt when she touched him like that.

Soon they were back in the truck. Exhausted. Filthy. Emotionally drained. While they were driving back Brennan waited anxiously for Booth to ask her why she didn't stay in the car. Or if she knew how much danger she put herself in. Or reiterate the fact that _he's_ the cop. When it never came she allowed herself to relax back into the seat. After awhile when she was settled she noticed that he would look over at her every once in awhile – not a quick glance – but a fairly long heavy stare and since he didn't say anything she didn't either.


	5. Chapter 5

**Chapter 5**

**Rating: Yep, still T. **

**"So pardon me while I burst into flames." - Incubus**

Brennan was trying to figure out exactly why the trip back home seemed to take so much longer than the trip there. She wondered if the way back to D.C. was actually more distance to cover based on the route or if Booth was just driving slower than usual. So far there hadn't been any traffic that held them back. She looked over at Booth for what seemed like the hundredth time since coming back wanting to say something about it but decided not to. She held back saying anything about anything since she really couldn't decipher what kind of response she'd get. She knew what kind of mood he was in, that wasn't the problem. She knew he was tender right now. After the incident, they had to stay to report what exactly happened in great detail. The same questions over and over. They were asked over and over together and then over and over separately. It felt odd to her, with Booth being with the FBI, that they would treat them that way. She trusted Booth. She _knew_ Booth. But obviously not everyone had this privilege. Not everyone just…._knew_, like she did. How did the man fall? Why was he being pursued exactly? Did Booth push him or did he trip? It was…draining. She wanted to make it all stop for him. She wanted to tell them that Booth was just doing his job, that he's an honorable man and they were wasting their time. But she knew they were just doing their job. And at the end of the day she respected thoroughness.

She knew it wasn't possible but it even seemed as though the sun was setting quicker than usual over them as they made their way back home. Brennan leaned further back against the seat; pushed her head back against the rest as she continued to sink deeper into her own thoughts. She just wanted _needed_ to go to sleep. She just needed to be in her own bed. She wanted to talk to Booth. She wanted him to say…. something.

It was when the silence between them became less frustrating and more of a soothing lull to her when Booth said something.

"I'm sorry about today."

Finally. She leaned up from the seat a little bit and turned towards him.

She didn't know exactly how it would make her feel when he spoke to her again but one thing she did feel was an immense …._relief_. She exhaled and with it released a good amount of tension that had built up between them over the last few hours. "You have no reason to apologize to me, Booth." She looked away and looked at her dirt stained pants and then back at Booth's dirt stained shirt white shirt. "I think we're Booth sorry for what happened today. But you are not in the wrong. You don't have to apologize. Especially to me."

Something about Booth shifted. Changed. His demeanor changed. His body tensed and Brennan caught it, surprisingly. Well maybe not so surprisingly, since she'd been more than aware of him. Every time he moved she looked over at him, analyzing. "Don't apologize?" His eyebrows' dropped as his forehead scrunched. His voice was suddenly high pitched. "Bones, do you know how many different things could have happened today? I mean, this whole drive I've been going over the different scenarios in my head."

Brennan looked down at her pants again. She tried to wipe away more dirt but at this point it was just mud that was caked into the material and wasn't something she could wipe off with her hands anymore. That didn't stop her from trying every time she looked down at them.

"Then I accept your apology," a few seconds of silence, "since you feel the need to be apologetic."

Another change in Booth. His shoulders fell along with a little bit of tension and he shook his head. They pulled up to a red light and stopped. He turned his head in her direction in what seemed like slow motion to her. Like it was agonizingly painful for him to do so. "It's still my job, Bones." He said seriously his brown eyes dark, heavy….serious. "Sully is your boyfriend, I know that. But it's still my job. You're my responsibility to protect while you're with me."

Boyfriend. Responsibility. So many things she wanted to say to correct him. Certain words that came out of his mouth just did not sit right with her but somehow she couldn't bring herself to say anything about it. She didn't want to argue with him. Not now. Now while he was like this. "I was negligent today. And I'm sorry."

She thought he might say something else to her but no more words came. He just looked at her and she met his stare. She thought about telling him that he wasn't negligent. That he told her to stay in the car but she didn't listen. That anything that could have happened would have been her fault. But again she decided to remain silent. He was tired. Everything about him just screamed tired to Brennan. The light turned green and the moment was over. He focused back on the road. They'd been home soon.

Sully was at her apartment when she got there. She had texted him while they were driving back that she had a long day and just wanted to sleep in her own bed tonight. He agreed and didn't argue but she wasn't completely shocked when she entered her apartment and saw a light shining from somewhere beyond her hallway. She followed it slowly, dropping her bag on her kitchen counter lazily as she passed it. The noise must have travelled because before she got to her bedroom Sully was meeting her in the hallway wrapping his arms around her waist in a hug. She let him hug her for as long as he needed. If felt good to her too. After a moment he lifted his head. The smell of dirt and sweat that had been clinging to her for hours now didn't go unnoticed.

"Temperance." He said with concern as he studied her face.

Sully was such a gentle person. And she found she didn't mind him caring right now. And during this moment when she was so raw, so tender from the day she just needed that care and so she fell into his arms and with what strength she had left tried not to cry. "It's ok, it's ok." He whispered. She was upset yes, but she refused to break down in front him. She didn't need to add that vulnerability onto everything else she was feeling. He stroked her back gently as he continued to tell her it was ok. But who was telling Booth that it was ok? She wondered for a brief moment if she should feel guilty about thinking of Booth and his needs while Sully tended to hers. She thought about the turmoil Booth was experiencing at this very moment. She thought about how he was blaming himself for everything. She thought that even though it was impossible to really know she really felt like she knew no one on this planet felt worse than Booth right now. The fact that Booth felt the need to apologize to her and that he somehow felt like he failed her tore at her on the inside and made her feel a way that she never felt before. When sully stroked her back again and she thought about him. She thought about them. That they would be leaving soon. She would have to leave Booth here to deal with things like this on his own. Even after all the times that he was there for her. After all his sacrifices for her – now she was leaving him. As she continued to let Sully hug and hold her she continued to find room to compartmentalize all of this. She continued to find strength to fight back the emotions she wanted to let go of and willed herself not to cry.

After a long shower she felt better. Today just needed to be put away. The emotions. The feelings. It all needed to be forgotten because they would hinder her from being able to do her job properly. She wouldn't be able to think straight if she went on feeling the way she did. She gathered her dirty clothes off of the floor and into her arms to move them to the hamper in the corner of the bathroom.

Booth sat outside on his balcony. He hadn't changed yet. He didn't do anything, really, since getting home but sit outside and lean back in that old metal folding chair that he expected to snap under him every time he pushed back with his feet and let the chair fall against the brick behind him.

Today wasn't his fault.

He let out a sarcastic laugh.

No, no. Today was _definitely _his fault. Who else could be blamed for this? He should have never pursued him through the woods. He should have stayed back. Bones should have stayed back. He should have called for backup. This guy sure acted guilty but what if he wasn't? What if Booth just spooked him? Even if he was guilty of anything involving Demetrius' murder, him falling over a cliff because he was being chased shouldn't have been the way this guy should have gone. He should have been questioned and tried. If guilty Booth would have made sure he was found guilty and he would have served his time while justice prevailed. That's the way it should have happened. But it didn't happen that way and it _was_ Booth's fault. He let the chair fall back down to the ground. After another moment he stood and walked back into his apartment closing the balcony door behind him. He leaned up against the wall just beside the door and covered his face with his hands. He was working himself up again. He needed to relax. He needed to talk to Bones.

Right before Brennan dropped her clothes into the hamper her phone fell from the pile in her arms and bounced off her tile floor with a loud clank.

"Temp?" She her Sully yell from somewhere outside her door.

"I'm fine."

She picked her phone up and sat down on the side of the tub to inspect its condition. As she ran her finger over the screen and flipped it over to the back to do the same it vibrated sending her heart into a flutter. She dropped it again. _Clank. _

"Temp?" He called again.

"I'll be out in a minute." She hollered back.

She snatched the phone from the floor again flipped it over in her hands to see the screen. One new message from Booth. "No." She whined to herself as she tried to fight the flood of anger she suddenly felt washing over her. "No." She said at her phone as if Booth could really hear her if she did so. It's not that she was actually upset with him for texting her but she just didn't think she had the capability to handle anything else this day. She was just letting herself move on from the day. Even with those thoughts she still flipped the screen open.

_Didn't mean for 2day to happen like it did. _

And then a second message.

_I don't know how to change it Bones._

She rubbed her thumb over the words of his last message and thought for a moment. He _can't_ change it. He must know that. Her heart pounded in her chest and the words from his message moved across her eyes over and over. There was nothing she could do. There wasn't anything anyone could do to change what happened today. He was hurting and she couldn't reach out and touch him now and know that it was bringing him some kind of comfort. She could only comfort him with her words, through a text, and she couldn't think of one thing to say.

Another message from Booth.

_Just need to reach out 2 u….that ok?_

She could reply to that.

_Yes, Booth. Always._

It felt good to reply to him and she hoped that her words helped him in some way.

He responded.

_What am I going 2 do when u leave me?_

"Oh Booth." She exhaled a shaky breath. That last bit of strength she had found was on its last leg and she found herself desperately grasping for control of her emotions.

_You don't need me Booth._

"Hey." Sully's voice trickled softly from the other side of the door followed by a knock. "You alright in there?" Brennan startled nearly dropping her phone again. She sat up quickly from the tub and reached over to pull the door open. The cool air from the outside hit her square in the face bringing her back from that place she was just in.

Sully looked down at her phone still clenched in her hand. "Everything ok?"

"Yes." And then less confidently, "I think so." And then her eyes were on her phone once more. "Just going over everything that happened today. It's been a long day."

"You should get some rest then, huh?" He pushed the door open wider and then stepped aside for her to come out. She did. "Do you want me to stay here with you tonight?" He asked.

She had told him that it was ok for him to reach out to her but yet something still seemed…wrong about it. It didn't sit right with him that he was reaching out to her at night by text when he could just wait to talk to her the next day, or even dial her number and call her. Something about it felt very secretive on his part. Sneaky. Cowardly

Sully was tucked in on his side of the bed while Brennan sat on the edge, not yet ready to settle down as she thumbed away at her phone. "Temperance." Sully muttered softly and sleepily from behind her. "You sure everything's ok?" Brennan laid her phone on her night stand and slid in next to him realizing that there wasn't anything she could do about anything right now. "I can't wait to get out of here with you," he whispered as he snuggled closer, "just you me and no more stress." Ready to be taken out of this reality even for a little while she closed her eyes and slept.

Booth woke up the next morning, his head pounding, probably in anticipation for what he knew was coming later in the day. More people to answer to. More documents to review and complete. More dealing with the fact that there was nothing he could do to bring this man back. And for Booth that was a difficult notion to grasp right now. He felt like he could _always_ do something. Or at least he could try. He would always try to make things right. Always try to fix things. It was something he was good at. But, in this situation there was nothing _nothing_ that could be done. Nothing that Booth could do. And he hated it. _Hated._ He was supposed to catch the bad guys. Catch the killer. Not become one. He finally opened his eyes against the stream of light coming through his blinds. The guilt would never go away. Finally pulling himself from his bed he pushed through those thoughts and went over what was ahead. What he needed to do. They would get the name of the man from yesterday. They would have to reach out to other people that knew him, other family members. He hoped that Bones would be able to give him a cause of death on Demetrius before the day's end as well.

Bones. _Shit._

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**Thanks for reading!**


	6. Chapter 6

**A/N: Parts of this were written directly after my favorite hockey team lost. Loathers of angst beware. **

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**A Fine Frenzy – Chapter 6**

Brennan felt like she was rested physically but emotionally she was still completely exhausted. She found that she could not let this go. She had not been able to compartmentalize this and it deflated her to know that she was losing this battle with herself.

She couldn't get passed Booth and how he felt about what happened. She couldn't get passed Booth and the way he'd been acting since she told him she was going to go with Sully.

Sully had already left for work; she heard him as he got dressed and slipped out of her apartment only a couple hours earlier. She needed to find a way to regain her focus and get answers for Booth. She needed things to be normal again. She needed to be herself and she needed Booth to be Booth.

She quickly got out of bed and started to follow her usual routine. Coffee. Breakfast. Shower. Coffee again. Dressed. Leave. Before leaving she stood in front of the small hanging mirror next to her door. She grabbed her hair and twisted a hair tie around it quickly before walking out and closing the door hard behind her.

The lab was normal. The air was normal. The sounds were normal. Everything was just as she expected it to be. Everyone was working. Everyone was doing what they were supposed to do and she counted on that. She clung to that as she looked around satisfied and used that feeling to work against the unsteadiness she'd felt the last few days.

"Dr. Brennan."

She heard Zack's voice call for her. She squared her shoulders and started towards her friend.

"I think you should take a look at something."

She followed Zack to the head of the remains that were laid out on the table.

"What is it Zack?"

He pulled the light head towards the area he was focusing on. "Here." He pointed to the back of the skull with his gloved finger.

"Zack, I'm already aware of this." Confusion obvious in her reply to him.

"I know but if you look closer," he handed her the heavy magnifier and she moved it front of her face quickly, her brows came together in concentration as she waited for Zack to continue. Both hunched over the remains he went on, "you can see that what we thought was just one break in the skull is actual several. The large break starts here and if you look further down you can see it splinters off and it doesn't stop until all the way over here," He placed his finger from his other hand on a different spot on the skull, "breaks that you can barely see even with the magnifier." He finished.

"Gloves please."

Zack retreated but was back within less than a minute placing a pair of gloves into Brennan's waiting hand. She set the magnifier down and put them on quickly. Zack took the opportunity to continue. "His skull was nearly crushed. The injury is more significant than we originally thought."

She ran her finger over the break in the skull. "There are several small fractures permeating just from this main break. " She whispered more to herself than to Zack.

"Yes." Zack agreed.

Brennan straightened again and removed her gloves. "Let me get this information to Angela so she can determine what could have caused this injury. Hopefully Booth has more details that can give more insight as to what happened as well."

Zack simply nodded and watched as Brennan peeled the gloves from her hands as she quickly left the room. _We're getting somewhere. We're getting somewhere._ Brennan repeated to herself as she turned a corner headed towards Angela's office. This is what she did. She was doing what she was supposed to do. She was doing what was expected of her and it felt great to be able to do it. This would be her last case in a long time most likely. She wanted to be efficient. She wanted to do her job well, as always.

"Bones."

Surprisingly she wasn't startled by his voice. That's not to say that it didn't throw something off inside of her. But that_ that_ was actually normal too. She didn't fret.

She slowed her pace and turned around and when she did she waited a few seconds before bringing her eyes to his but when she did she was hit with a sharp pang of something that quickly lead to her being assaulted by every feeling that she experienced yesterday. With a deep breath she surrendered the control and took in his eyes. As she did she realized a need she had. She suddenly felt like she needed to know everything. Just from looking at his face. She wanted to ask him how he was doing and if he was feeling ok. She wanted to know the amount of sleep he got last night and if he understood yet that yesterday wasn't his fault. The need was nearly overwhelming and all of these questions would have spilled out of her if it wasn't for more important matter.

"Booth, I was just getting ready to call you."

Booth wanted to apologize. He needed to apologize. He would never apologize for telling her that he made a mistake that he failed her by putting her in danger. He was sorry that she was upset but he didn't need to apologize for that. He wouldn't. He needed to apologize for how uncomfortable he must have made her feel after asking her what he was going to do when she left him. He wanted to apologize for how much of a coward he must seem like. Hiding behind text messages and putting her in situations that he knew just weren't right. She didn't owe anything to him. He wasn't anything to her but her partner. She could come and go as she pleased. He meant to tell her that, to apologize for making her feel uncomfortable. It was on the tip of his tongue.

"We have cause of death."

He was shaken from his thoughts. "What? Oh. Great, that's great Bones. What is it?" He said shoving the sides of his suit coat back as he placed his hands on his hips and shifted he weight onto his other leg.

"Blunt force trauma. I saw the fracture in the skull originally and thought it _could_ be it but after Zack examined the remains more today he was able to confirm that that is what definitely caused his death. The damage is significant." Booth took in what she had to say and nodded. "The guy, from yesterday," his voice gave just the slightest hint of wavering, "he was Demetrius' older brother. Dwayne Scott." Brennan took in a deep breath as she processed this new information. Booth continued. "The uncle, Francis, is coming in this afternoon. That's who Demetrius lived with."

He stopped speaking but his eyes stayed on hers. She felt his intensity. His insecurity. The silence between them a painful conversation within itself of unspoken questions and confessions of needs and wants.

"Do you think you'll have some time today to be there?"

"When you question the uncle?"

"Yeah."

"Of course. Yes. Yes, I can be there."

"Great, thanks." He took a few steps backwards. "I have another meeting with Cullen in a few so just stop by my office whenever you're finished here."

"Ok, Booth."

She watched him as he turned and left. Left her on her own to try and reel in the emotions that just not too long ago she felt she was getting control of.

Later that evening Booth and Brennan finished questioning Francis or Frank he insisted they call him and sat in Booth's office going over what was said in the interview. They learned that Dwayne was working for some guy out of Reading Pennsylvania who ran a business selling stolen car parts. Dwayne lived on his own while Demetrius stayed with his uncle. Their father was never in the picture and their mother's whereabouts have been unknown for over twenty years. Frank's health was failing and he could no longer work. They were losing their home. The only income their family was getting was based on whatever money Dwayne was making and willing to loan to his uncle. Demetrius, still living with his uncle, felt like it was his responsibility to bring in some kind of steady income. Dwayne recruited Demetrius into stealing cars and car parts for this guy up in Reading, PA. Frank never asked questions. All he knew was that his mortgage and other bills were being paid and he didn't have to worry about not having a home anymore. He told them that all he knew was that the guy they were working for went by "Benny."He didn't have a last name or even a description of the guy. So far, that's all they had to go on.

"You would think that Francis would try to talk his nephews out of participating in illegal activity for profit."

Booth leaned back in his seat and clasped his hands over the top of his head. "Yeah well, he may have wanted to but given the situation probably found it difficult being as though the alternative was him and Demetrius being homeless."

"It just doesn't seem right Booth."

"Well in life the right thing to do is usually the hardest thing to do and most people don't do it."

Brennan contemplated Booth's words for a moment.

"How are we going to figure out who this Benny guy is?"

"I have some contacts in the Reading area. I'll make some calls tomorrow and we can go from there."

Brennan nodded.

Booth sat forward in his seat suddenly. "Listen Bones…"

Her eyes went to his immediately. She wasn't even sure what she was looking at before she went back to looking at him.

"I don't ever want to make you feel guilty for leaving. With Sully."

She felt her heart rate increase. She wasn't prepared for this. They were supposed to be normal now and then _later_ he would text her. That's how it went. That's what she was prepared for. He should be telling her this through text. Tell her things that pained her but things she knew she wanted to hear deep down. Things that confused her but knew that if she could push passed that cloud of confusion she would understand. Understand it more than anything else she thought she understood.

"Bones?"

"It's fine Booth. You did tell me that I should go, right?"

He tried not to let the bitter taste of complete and utter regret show as he nodded in response. "Yeah." Was all he could say at that point.

"See, I know that you want me to go. Don't feel guilty. About anything. You told me that I should go. You want me to go." She knew that she was being redundant but she didn't care. She wanted him to know that she was going because _he said to_. Not because of Angela or her colleagues or anyone else. She was going because he told her it was ok.

"I know Bones, I just… " he sighed and looked at her for a long time before he continued in a softer voice. "I just… I don't know." And once it was out. Whatever it was that he was saying. He said it again. "I don't know anymore."

Brennan stood from her chair. "Well_ I_ know that I have to go, Booth." She tried to not sound agitated but by the look on Booth's face she failed. "I'll call you when Angela has given me a possible murder weapon."

Brennan wanted to be in her own bed again. And she found that she wanted to be in her own bed _alone_. She needed some space. She needed the time to clear her mind again and focus on the case. She couldn't believe what was happening. Was Booth now unsure about whether or not he wanted her to go? And what was even more unnerving was that she wasn't even sure how _she_ felt about that. Did she want him to stop her from leaving? Or was she thoroughly pissed that he thought that he could at all?

When Sully arrived it didn't take much for her to get him to go. He didn't push. She told him honestly that she wanted some space. She told him that she had another hard day that weighed on her emotionally, that she would be fine but tonight she just wanted some space. He left but didn't go back to his place. He went to the bar.

Booth was seated at the bar. He'd already had a few drinks but that didn't keep him from noticing a familiar person, a familiar gait, a familiar face – out of his peripheral vision. He looked over and confirmed it was indeed who he thought it was. He groaned.

Sully quickly spotted Booth and strode over to him taking a seat at the bar next to him.

"Booth, my man," he patted Booth on the shoulder as he adjusted himself on the stool, "how did I know you would be here?"

"How you doing, Sul?" You were looking for me?" Booth responded without giving him eye contact. Instead, he kept his focus on his glass.

"Well yeah, I wanted to see how things were going with you." Sully motioned to the bartender with a nod that yes he did want his usual. The bartender snapped off the cap of a beer and set it in front of Sully.

"I'm hanging in there."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah."

"You sure, man? Cause Dr. Brennan has been _pretty_ tense lately. Can't understand what's going on with her." Sully took his first sip from the bottle.

As much as Booth wanted to stay nonchalant his interest was piqued. He couldn't help himself. He gave Sully full eye contact now for the first time since he came over but only for a few seconds and then he was staring back into his glass. "Really?"

"Yeah, she's just been shutting me out lately. She doesn't seem to be herself and tonight she didn't even want to be around me."

Booth nodded as he lifted his glass to his lips.

"I feel like something is going on that she just isn't telling me about. What's up between you and Temperance?"

This is what he didn't want. It's what he expected when he saw Sully walk in but he really did not want to do this. On edge, Booth swallowed a mouthful of scotch, set the glass down on the bar and pushed it away. Once the burn in his throat stopped tingling from the alcohol he responded. "I don't know Sully, maybe it's her job. She does examine dead people's remains for a living. Not to mention deals with the fact that those people were actually murdered and _she's_ the one who has to figure out all the details of how."

Sully absorbed Booth's sarcastic tone. "Yeah I know Booth but you know Temperance, things just seem different now. She seems more on edge than usual."

The bartender pushed another full glass of scotch to Booth.

"She's your girlfriend, Sul. Maybe you should talk to her. What makes you think that I would know more about what's going on with her than you do?"

Sully smiled despite his frustration. "You know I really shouldn't have to ask myself that but I find that I do. A lot."

Booth turned in his bar stool so his entire front was now facing Sully. "Is there something you're getting at?"His voice was low and his eyes were dark.

Sully took heed to the warning Booth was giving off but still frustrated himself he didn't let that stop him from saying what he came there to say in the first place. He took another long swig from his beer and adjusted his tone a bit.

"Listen Booth I've know you for awhile now, I know you're a good guy but Temp means more to me than anything…. whatever it is that's going on to cause her to come home to me close to tears damn near every night – just stop it. OK? Stop."

A part of Booth wanted the situation to escalate. A part of him was _burning_ with want for an altercation. But he didn't budge, he didn't move, he didn't say anything. Brennan unknowingly held him back. He knew the last thing she needed was this. He took a few calming breaths and turned back to the bar and took hold of his glass without another word. Sully sat and watched Booth for another minute before he finally realized that the conversation was over. He shook his head, stood up from the stool and threw some money on the bar and left.

Booth held onto his glass with a tight grip as he brought it to his mouth once again, his fingers itched and his palms were sweaty but he kept his hand steady as he downed the rest of the glass.


	7. Chapter 7

**Just a quick little shoutout to threesquares. I could write the crappiest crap and that woman would find something positive about it and leave a review. What a wonderful person she is. **

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**A Fine Frenzy Chapter 7**

**Rating: T**

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Brennan sat on her side of the table finished with her food while Booth hurried to finish off his french fries stuffing two or three in his mouth at a time. He was quiet today. No real conversation. No real eye contact. No real Booth. She would glance up from her phone at him every once in awhile and he would still be staring at everything else, looking at everyone else but her. He didn't seem angry with her but something was off. They hadn't talked about their conversation they had in Booth's office two nights ago. When he told her that "he didn't know anymore" whatever that meant – she still didn't know. She wondered if maybe she should bring it up but was never sure if it would make things better or worse between them. Time was winding down and she knew she didn't want to leave on bad terms with Booth.

"Why are you ignoring me, Booth?" She finally had the courage to ask. She put her phone down and moved it off to the side. She wasn't sure if it was the right thing to ask and she didn't really think he was actually purposefully ignoring her but she knew it would get him to talk. And that's all she really wanted.

"I'm not ignoring you. What do you want to talk about? I won't have any more information about the guy in PA until I hear back from my informant."

"I know that," She said a little agitated," just tell me something personal, talk to me about something… else."

He swirled a fry around in the ketchup on his plate before shoving it into his mouth. "Something personal?" He knew what she was asking for and he knew why. He wasn't surprised by her odd request. He knew that Sully probably didn't tell her about the other night and he knew that he really didn't want to either. He wanted to keep the peace.

"Yes." She had such a look of desperation now. "Tell me what you meant the other night when you said that you didn't know anymore. What don't you know Booth?"She had no idea where that came from. She wasn't feeling confident at all. And everything she felt should have kept her from going there but she ignored the fear. She ignored it all and just let the words tumble from her mouth like she wasn't the one who was actually saying them. Like it was someone else communicated to Booth through her.

He looked up at her. A little shocked. A little confused. But his features straightened to an almost blank expression within seconds. "I can't do that." He voice void of everything she knew Booth to be.

His lack of emotion. His lack of explaining pissed her off thoroughly. She couldn't believe him. If she was able to push through all the bullshit and if she was able to somehow manage to carry this conversation despite her doubts and fears then he should be doing the same for her. That's how it was supposed to be with them.

"You think you can just say these things to me. Text me in the middle of the night. Tell me things that you know will confuse me. Tell me that you don't know if I should go or not and then not even have the courage to explain yourself when I ask you about it?" It was the middle of the day, lunch hour, and though no one was sitting near them, close enough to hear, she wondered if the people who walked by the window outside could tell what kind of conversation they were having when they looked in on them.

"You have a boyfriend, Bones! Jesus Christ, what do you want me to do here, huh? Yes, I admit that I'm confused as hell, ok? I don't always know what to say or do because I've never been in a situation like this before." He took a breath realizing suddenly that he needed air. "I'm sorry for putting you in this situation. I don't want to make things difficult for you."

"You've already made things difficult, Booth! You've been making things difficult for me since day one. So I think it's a little too late now to tell me that. It's only fair that you tell me what you meant." She glared at him expectantly.

He sat back in his chair completely frustrated that she was poking and prodding him like this. "Ok so, what, Bones? What do you want to hear? I told you that I didn't know anymore. I don't know means I don't know if I really want you to go. I don't know if I'm really ok with you leaving."

She noticed he face was deepening in color, the cords of his throat were prominent and despite this, despite his higher than normal pitched voice he still didn't seem angry. His eyes were still soft and not harsh. "I've never felt like this before." He lowered his head and shook it before looking back up at her. "You have a boyfriend. And he's made it very clear that I need to watch myself." He said with a subtle sarcastic undertone.

He saw her eyes widen. Fuck. He didn't want to tell her. He wasn't that type of guy. He wasn't spiteful. He wasn't _that_ guy. But it had just come out naturally like it was supposed to happen. Like it was meant to be said. He watched as she swallowed hard. Her eyes stayed wide and she had that look on her face like she did when she just discovered something new on a case. Triumph laced with sadness.

"Sully approached you? He said something you?"

"Listen Bones, could we please not make this a big deal?"

"What did he say, Booth?" She tried again. Her voice louder.

"It doesn't matter what he said, ok?" His voice was low, even, and stern. He was trying to diffuse the situation. He didn't want to create a scene. He absolutely did not want this getting back to Sully. His head pounded at the thought of having to deal with that extra stress. Not that he was intimidated; he just didn't want things to be said, things to happen that he couldn't take back. He didn't want to hurt Bones. He didn't want to sabotage her relationship with Sully even he if he was feeling whatever it was that he was feeling since she told him that she was leaving.

She didn't ask him again. Eventually they both got back to work both eager to concentrate on the case for the rest of the day and nothing else.

Later that evening Brennan called Sully and asked him if he could come over. There was no way she was just going to let this go. Who did the he think he was? Intruding on her friendship with Booth? Approaching him about things he didn't even understand. Things she didn't even understand… The door was unlocked but he still knocked before coming in. "It's open." She shouted from where she was sitting. He came into her apartment and made his way to where she was. He smiled at her when he saw her sitting at the kitchen table finishing off a bowl of fruit salad. He moved over to her and stood behind her. He was leaning down to place a kiss on top of her head when she stood suddenly and he missed her completely. She walked over to the sink and placed her bowl down gently. She turned around and placed her hands on either side of her, clutching the edge of the counter as though if she didn't she would not be able to contain her desire to lunge at him.

"Why would you go behind my back Sully? What did Booth ever do to you?"

Sully was taken aback a little with her getting straight to the point and skipping pleasantries but he quickly realized what she was referring to. It took him a moment to collect his thoughts. He took his jacket off and sat down at the kitchen table.

"You're intruding on my friendship, Sully. You're acting like a typical male. I don't understand. You aren't like this? I don't understand?" She questioned. She sounded less angry and more desperate now.

"Temperance I'm sorry. You know I'd never do anything to betray you or what we have here. I just became concerned." He explained. Brennan shook her head as though the words he spoke meant absolutely nothing. As though his explanation wasn't good enough. As though he wasn't meeting the criteria for an appropriate response and she just did not want to hear anymore.

"I hate seeing you upset. I hate seeing you hurt. Booth is the only other person you ever spend a substantial amount of time with. You were shutting me out. I needed to know what was wrong. I needed to let him know I wasn't happy with how you were acting lately."

"How I'm _acting_? I fail to see why you would think that you or anyone else has any control over _how I act_ or have the right to change it."

"I just meant I didn't like that you seemed sad. You've been upset. Not yourself. That's all I meant." He defended.

"And what made you think that it was all Booth's fault? What made you think that he could be the only reason why I haven't been myself?"

Sully sighed.

She gave him a few moments to answer. He didn't. "You can leave now Sully." She pushed herself off the counter and started to walk by him.

He grabbed her arm and spoke up then with his head lowered towards the floor. "I've seen the way he looks at you. Hell, everyone has." She moved back from him and he stood up still not letting her arm go. "You're so brilliant but yet so oblivious." He looked up at her. "How can you not see it?"

She pulled out of his grasp and folded her arms across her chest. "What are you talking about?" She asked, but she knew. She knew.

"I'm talking about the fact that everyone at the lab, everyone at the bureau knows that Seeley Booth has a thing for you. It's so apparent. And I'm a little scared that he's trying to keep you from me, Temp." He moved closer to her. "I don't want to lose you. I got upset. I started thinking all of these asinine things and I got upset. I don't want to lose what we have here."

"Booth and I are partners. He cares about me because I'm his partner. His friend." She said adamantly.

He looked at her disbelieving. He couldn't understand if she really was that ignorant or if she was desperately trying to hide something she was very well aware of. "That's it? Just a friend?"

She ignored his questioning. "You should go. I need my rest tonight. I have a lot to do at work tomorrow."

"Temp, please. Please don't do this to me." He pleaded. "Don't keep shutting me out. We're about to start something together. We're about to share this _amazing_ experience together." He went to touch her but she moved back. "Please don't let _him_ ruin us."

"_He_ is my very good friend Sully. And you've crossed a line."

She moved her eyes away from his. "Just go."

And so he did. He turned away from he, picked up the jacket that he had just set down and left quietly.

Booth was in bed but he wasn't sleeping. Not even close to it really. When he would force his eyes closed they would eventually spring open again and he would find himself staring into the dark. He wondered what Bones said to Sully. He wondered if this would turn into a huge thing. He wondered what Bones would say if he called her right now and told her that he didn't want her to go. He wanted her to stay, with him, see where things lead between them. To forget Sully and his stupid sail boat and his stupid haircut. That he needed her. He needed her and he didn't even know why fully. But he felt it. And he_ was_ sure. He was sure that he wanted her to stay. Here. With him. He wondered. There was no harm in wondering or thinking about it but he knew that he could never actually do that. He closed his eyes again cutting off the dark in his room only to stare into dark behind his eyes as his mind continued to pace.

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**Reviews are much appreciated. Thanks for reading. (Everytime I say that at the end of a story I feel like I'm holding out a metal cup, shaking it at you guys to drop a few coins in.)**


	8. Chapter 8

**A/N: Hope this chapter won't be too confusing for you guys to understand as far as the timeline. This chapter takes place during present day. In chapter 1 we see Booth walking alone and then he starts to flashback to a few days earlier (where the story picks) and now in THIS chapter we are back in present time. Booth is still walking and now you're about to see what happens after that. Why am I so complicated? I'm the reason why we can't have nice things.**

**Thanks everyone for your support. **

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**A Fine Frenzy**

**Chapter 8**

**Rating: T**

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As he made his way across the bridge he noticed the street lights that were illuminating his walk on either side of him were becoming less and less frequent as he drew closer to a more high traffic area. He turned onto L Street and suddenly he was among a sea of people. He almost laughed at the irony of it. He actually felt as if he could be in the sea. Floating, going under, stroking through the current, feeling beat and completely exhausted but pushing on through groups of people - fish. Pissed off at how simply they swam by him as if there wasn't a care in their world. _Their world._ He didn't feel connected. He didn't feel a part of his own world. As of right now he was just trying not to drown.

Stay afloat – that was the current goal.

He took a deep breath, the summer air filling his lungs, filling him with life quite literally and metaphorically. He picked his head up then and fixed his posture as he exhaled slowly and rolled his shoulders. He tried to clear his mind once more.

He was coming up on a popular bar that he'd been to a few times himself, The Black Rooster Pub. He was passing the back of it, the outside area was crowded and people seemed to be really enjoying themselves. He decided then to stop. He leaned up against a black street lamp and faced the mix of people. The thought that he had been fighting since taking his little impromptu walk snuck up on him during his moment of what should have been clarity as he leaned against the cold steel. Bones will be long gone by this time tomorrow. His mind knew that. His mind was able to grasp that and say that but something inside him was still fighting that fact to its very last breath. Something inside of him was still in denial about it – only it wasn't denial. That something inside him knew it like it was the absolute truth if only he'd _do_ something.

Do something… He sighed and pressed his back harder against the pole as if it was the only thing holding him up at the moment.

Do something? At this point? Would it even matter? Would Bones even consider anything he had to say given all the bullshit he'd already put her through? The back and forth. The mixed signals. The confusion. Shaking his head he moved his eyes from the small crowd who was now singing along to a song by the band Live and down to the ground to where the concrete met his feet.

"Just let her go Booth." He said. His whisper getting lost in the noise of the outside world that went on living without him.

The Black Rooster Pub happened to be one of Sully's favorite spots and he had convinced Brennan that going out to the bar on their last night in D.C. would be a fun time.

"You've had quite a few of those Sully." Brennan pointed out looking down at the bottle that sat in front of Sully.

"Guess you have some catching up to do." He smiled.

She didn't really know why she was pointing out the obvious. It's not like it was a problem anyhow. They'd taken cab here and it's not like either of them had to drive at any point during the night. Sully wasn't alcohol dependent, so what if he had a few drinks? Or more than a few? It seemed like recently she just scrutinized every little thing that he did. Things bothered her more than they should. She went out of her way to comment on everything. She went out of her way to argue about everything.

It was _tiring. _She was tired of being tired.

Sully noticed Brennan deep in thought. "You ok?"

She moved her arms from the top of the pub style table and placed them on her lap under the table. "Yes, I'm alright." Sully looked at her skeptically and she knew her answer was not satisfying. "It's just… pretty warm in here isn't it?"

"You wanna get some air?" He hooked a thumb over his right shoulder pointed towards the doors that lead to the bar's patio.

She nodded.

Sully hopped down off his chair, grabbed his beer from the table and motioned for Brennan to follow him. When she got down and started to follow behind him, he turned slightly to grab her hand and help guide her through the crowd but she pulled back. The look on his face was hurt with a mix of anger and it was only at that point she realized her reaction of pulling away from him. Again. It was so automatic anymore that she didn't consciously know that she was even doing it. She had been pulling away from him a lot recently. And each time the confusion on his face was replaced with more…anger. After reestablishing her boundaries she would always think of Booth immediately.

He brain. Her brain knew that this was illogical. She was with Sully. She had established a serious relationship with a man and him reaching out to her physically, to hold her hand, touch her, guide her – it shouldn't be an issue. She would just have to keep telling herself that. Then things would be ok. The she wouldn't react like that.

But something inside her. Something deep within her was in denial. Something inside told her not to trust her brain. It told her quite blatantly that she belonged to Booth. Her, everything she was, the right to touch her in any and every way belonged to Booth and Booth only. Something inside told her to fight for that because that's what she wanted. That's what she needed. And she could have it if only she would just… _do_ something.

Sully had turned around completely again, without her hand, and led her out towards the patio where he secured a small table with a large blue and white umbrella with a Miller Lite logo on it running through the center. The air was refreshing and as she inhaled a light breeze picked up. She felt….better.

_'Just let him go.' _She thought. She had a perfectly good man sitting right in front of her. He had a list of positive character traits. He was good looking and he loved her. It made sense for her to love him. It made sense for her to leave tomorrow with him. She focused on him from across the table. He looked irritated.

"Are you enjoying yourself?" He asked her over the music.

The music wasn't too terribly loud but it was loud enough to someone would really have to use their "outside voice" as they call it to be able to hear over both the music and the people.

"I suppose." She answered honestly.

"What's on your mind?"

"Thousands, millions of things probably. Our thoughts are many, Sully, I can't pinpoint one thing in particular at the moment."

He shook his head. "Bullshit Tempe." He said as casually as if he were commenting on something as trivial as the music that was playing.

"I'm…sorry?"

"Just tell me what you're _really _thinking about. Be honest with me. For once." He was leaning forward in his seat, beer between his legs being held under the table.

"So you believe that all this time I've been, what, lying to you about something?" Her voice was becoming less like her own and had the potential to sound like a panicked woman she didn't know if she didn't get herself under control.

"After everything that's happened over this last week and a half, you're telling me that I have nothing to worry about? That there isn't one substantial thing you're keeping from me? That tomorrow we're going to sail away together and never have to," He stopped himself; he collected himself and went on, "never have to worry about anyone coming between us?"

She wanted to look at him like she could taste his words and they were bitter in her mouth. She wanted to… but she didn't. She kept her same, nearly emotionless, face intact. The one she knew would most likely irritate him even more. She said nothing and looked away from him. And as she did so a song that she knew came on. A song that _everyone_ knew, apparently. The slightly intoxicated crowd sung along with great enthusiasm.

_Lightning crashes, a new mother cries_

_Her placenta falls to the floor_

_The Angel opens her eyes_

_The confusion sets in_

_Before the doctor can even close the door_

"Temperance?"

She looked back at him. A small smile spread across her face. "I was just thinking…" Sully leaned in even closer to the table. Anxious. Confused. Was she smiling?

Brennan pressed her lips together and tilted her head to the side. The crowd continued to sing. "I was thinking that,"

_Oh now feel it coming back again_

_Like a rolling thunder chasing the wind_

_Forces pulling from the center of the earth again_

_I can feel it_

"I was thinking about Booth, Sully." And there it was.

"I was thinking about Booth." She repeats.

Her eyes were confidant but unsure, unblinking, relieved but scared. His dark eyes grew darker. Brennan knew this wasn't going to end well, even before she heard the bottle he was holding under the table smash to pieces against the concrete below them.

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**Thanks for reading!**


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